Dependence of DNA Persistence Length on Ionic Strength and Ion Type

Sébastien Guilbaud, Laurence Salomé, Nicolas Destainville, Manoel Manghi, and Catherine Tardin
Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 028102 – Published 18 January 2019
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Abstract

Even though the persistence length LP of double-stranded DNA plays a pivotal role in cell biology and nanotechnologies, its dependence on ionic strength I lacks a consensual description. Using a high-throughput single-molecule technique and statistical physics modeling, we measure LP in the presence of monovalent (Li+, Na+, K+) and divalent (Mg2+, Ca2+) metallic and alkyl ammonium ions, over a large range 0.5mMI5M. We show that linear Debye-Hückel-type theories do not describe even part of these data. By contrast, the Netz-Orland and Trizac-Shen formulas, two approximate theories including nonlinear electrostatic effects and the finite DNA radius, fit our data with divalent and monovalent ions, respectively, over the whole I range. Furthermore, the metallic ion type does not influence LP(I), in contrast to alkyl ammonium monovalent ions at high I.

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  • Received 28 September 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.028102

© 2019 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Polymers & Soft MatterPhysics of Living Systems

Authors & Affiliations

Sébastien Guilbaud1,‡, Laurence Salomé1, Nicolas Destainville2, Manoel Manghi2,*, and Catherine Tardin1,†

  • 1Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31 077 Toulouse, France
  • 2Laboratoire de Physique Théorique (IRSAMC), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31 062 Toulouse, France

  • *manghi@irsamc.ups-tlse.fr
  • tardin@ipbs.fr
  • Present address: Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.

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Issue

Vol. 122, Iss. 2 — 18 January 2019

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